Gatso

1) Brand name for roadside-mounted speed and monitoring cameras and mini radar. Takes its name from the inventor, ex-racing driver Maurice Gatsonides.

Gas oil

1) Duty-rebated oil used for industrial purposes and to power contractor’s plant, off-road vehicles and farm vehicles, etc. Coloured with a red dye for distinguishing purposes (hence common name of red diesel) and carries a lower rate of duty than diesel fuel for road vehicles and is therefore illegal for use in such.

Galileo

1) EU Commission name for a civil and commercial global navigation satellite system (GNSS) developed with EU funding. Similar in concept to the American GPS and Russian GLONASS systems.

‘G’

1) Circular plaque bearing white letter ‘G’ on green background to be seen displayed on the front of British and foreign registered heavy lorries - means vehicle complies with German requirements (Gerduscharm) for noise-reduced diesel engines.

FWD

1) (1) Common abbreviation of the term forward (ie as in goods or charges forward). (2) Four-wheel drive. Also written 4WD or 4 x 4. (3) Front-wheel drive. Drive (ie transmission) system employed on most modern small and family-sized cars. Engines are usually mounted transversally with the gearbox built as an integral unit.

Fuel duty escalator

1) The Government’s annual road fuel duty escalator, started in 1993 and recently dropped, to tackle the problem of pollution, under which fuel prices were increased by a percentage above the current rate of inflation.